Same day GP appointments

[Boogl]

My GP surgery has just changed to a system of only offering same day appointments, for which you have to ring at 8am. Previously they had some same day/emergency appointments, with the rest offered in advance. I've just called to make routine, non-urgent appointments for me and one DC, and there's nothing. I can't ring at 8am due to school run and commute without taking a day off work, but the receptionist admitted that there's no guarantee of an appointment, even if you get through. I can't be constantly taking days off work and keeping children off school on the off chance I might get an appointment.

Anybody else have this system? Who does it benefit? The receptionist said that they'd had loads of complaints, mainly from working people, people with school age kids, and the elderly. She also said that maybe we should call 111 or go to A&E. But we're not sick. I appreciate emergency appointments are sometimes needed, but the vast majority of my GP appointments in my adult life have been very routine, not urgent at all.

So frustrating!

It's horrendous and I'm a GP. we used to be 2/3 in advance 1/3 on the day but now the other way round and our prebookables are 5 weeks away. One reason is the DNA rate was really high so people couldn't get appointments so our extras list was huge. So we went to on the day to manage demand. It benefits none but changing back is quite tricky as demand is far outstripping supply. The SNP have failed us completely up here.

We are just horrendously busy now and all if us quite often in tears at how busy things are. The housebuilding in our city has soared and we and many practices around have just closed our lists as we simply cannot cope.

People don't even want to wait a few days for an appointment

I have been a GP for 30 years and it's never been like this. I'm retiring in August aged 60 as I'm totally burnt out. We cannot get doctors to cover us. I even struggled to get compassionate leave when my mum was dying. I only managed as my partners took the hit and dealt with the excess load.

We are seeing patients face to face so no long phone calls then having to see them it really isn't a good use of time.

But I agree it's awful

@Musicaltheatremum it must be so frustrating for you, no wonder you're burnt out. I hope your retirement is lovely and relaxing when it comes.

I know that the root cause is underfunding. The receptionist I spoke to sounded so fed up and encouraged me to complain, which I will do. Might not do anything, but at least they'll know. I suspect she's dealt with many calls like mine, she sounded so fed up.

I have no words, that is disgraceful.

I would complain to the practice manager, any relevant NHS oversight body, your local councillors and your MP - how can that be sustainable? It is making me panicky just thinking about it.

Do you have an alternative practice nearby?

There's a national shortage of GPs. Failure by Gov to plan ahead for an ageing workforce and many who want to work part time.. It takes years to train a fully qualified GP.

So I guess some health centres have had to prioritise urgent care over more routine care. It worries me that we're storing up health problems for the future. People just aren't seeing their GP for monitoring of conditions as it's too difficult to get an appointment at a suitable time. And then they'll get much worse and end up in hospital.🤷🏼‍♀️

My GP practice has had this system for a couple of years. It's totally rubbish.

As you say, it works against people who simply cannot get to the phone at 08.00 and wait (sometimes over an hour) till you reach the top of the queue.

If you're lucky enough to get though to the receptionist, you have to give a description of your illness/issue. Even if you are on a bus on the way to work.

My MP lives in London and does not need to access our local GP practices. So he's not interested when I have emailed to say how ludicrous the system is.

My surgery has initial phone appointments now - urgent on the day you phone at 8, or about a six week wait for a non-urgent appointment. You don’t get a time-slot for the doctor to call you, which isn’t great for lots of people. I’ve heard rumours that the GP might get people in after the phone call, but no-one I know personally has seen a doctor in the flesh since March 2020!

I rang for an appointment at the end of September re ongoing sinus issues. I finally have the call next week, and am fortunate that I can WFH that day in anticipation. I’ve had numerous calls about this same problem over the last 18 months and do worry I could have something seriously wrong with me since no-one has actually examined me.

My gp is phone appointments only. If the dr wants to see you they phone you back to book you in and will routinely prescribe meds without and examinations or checks being carried out. I've been prescribed some pretty strong medications and given a repeat prescription but not actually seen a gp since before covid.

I pressed dial as soon as it turned 0800 this morning and I was number 28 in the queue. After waiting 20mins the receptionist told me there were no routine appointments only emergency spaces left and they were for emergencies "like heart attacks and stroke patients"

You don’t get a time-slot for the doctor to call you, which isn’t great for lots of people.

I really don't understand this at all. It's ridiculous they don't know what times of day the GP will be scheduling in telephone consultations! Even if they say it will be between 3-5 or whatever

At my practice you can no longer book any appointments in advance, save a few for a nurse practitioner, eg smear tests. It's horrendous. DH is on anti-depressants. He has to have an appointment every two months for a repeat prescription but can't book this on advance. He's a teacher so it's extremely difficult to call on the day. I'm also a teacher so with anything other than, eg UTI or ear infection, we have to just hop ossie can wait until the next school holiday to be resolved.

Totally agree. Sorry, class of 6-year olds, could you just amuse yourselves while I speak to the doctor about my fungal infection.

Our surgery is phone at 8 or 12 to ask for an appointment or help with anything else.
It works ok

I envy those who get into a queue - for my surgery I just have to keep calling from 08:30 whilst trying to get children to school/nursery and me to work. It seems so inefficient. My daughter was given a face to face appointment following a telephone consultation. The Dr asked me to bring her back in 2 weeks I asked the receptionist if we could book that in and she said no, would have to call on the day. I must have called the surgery about 60 times that week without getting through

Why can't you call on the school run?

@StrataZon @Whizzi24 I’m actually a lecturer, so not too far off! I could nip into the corridor and leave a class alone absolutely no problem, but my manager is happy for me to teach remotely on that day rather than publicly discuss my medical issues. I will just let the students know I might need to hop off the call for five minutes. I can imagine elderly people with just a landline being afraid to go to the loo in case they miss the call though.

We've got this BS. It can take 2 days for them to recall you. Then the Dr git arsey with me when I couldn't get my DD to the GP ASAP. Sorry dickhead but she's in school as she couldn't miss however many days waiting on you to call over a UTI.

I then had the audacity to ask for an appointment after school, which he heard as sacrificing his Nan to Satan.

I WFH and had to leg it get her take her and then back to school.

I am using the Out of hours more now. The appointment may be at 1 am but that's easier for us than this bollocks.

I’ve had the opposite experience. We have a excellent GP practice, in the top 5 in Edinburgh for overall patient satisfaction. Appointments by phone or face-to-face on the day or in advance with a 2 week wait. Alternatively you can see a pharmacist or a nurse practitioner. If the NP feels you need to see a GP, she makes an appointment for the next day, at your choice of time.

The practice is busy but there’s an air of calm. Never had a receptionist be offhand, they’re always ultra-helpful.

SNP are doing the best with what they are allocated. All staff were awarded £500 in 2020 as a “thank you” and pay about to be increased.

There are long backlogs for things like routine operations here as everywhere else. My brother was quoted 2 years for a hip replacement but he was offered a cancellation after 9 months and he’s back home to recuperate.

Mine is the same, you have to ring at 8am or 12

What it actually looks like (I work in a contact centre) when I have a UTI and work FT
Ask boss if I can take time at 8am to ring doctor. Spend 25 mins in the queue and appointments all gone
Ask boss again if I can ring at 12, spend 20 mins queuing, no appointments
Apologise to boss, ask if I can ring the next day
Ring at 8am, get telephone appointment
Take time off to take the telephone appointment
Ask boss if I can go as they need to see me face to face. Apologise again. Late back as doctors running late
Get 3 days of antibiotics which don't work as I'm immunocompromised and need longer

Repeat all above steps to get another course of antibiotics 3 days later
I mean my work are good but still... and I feel awful when I'm well enough to be at work but need to see the GP

Poundthealsrm, my surgery also opens at 8am but I found it best to start phoning about 3 minutes beforehand to catch the exact time the phone line is switched on. That way, you’re connected sooner and further up the queue.

Mine has a policy that anyone who needs to be seen will get seen, but they don't advertise it.

It's phone at 8, say if you want a telephone or face to face appointment.

People who are working get priority for evening appointments.

You then get either the call or you go at the set time. They almost always run late because they have another policy of taking as much time as you need.

For things like test results they send a text with the time and date and you have the option of changing.

You can call at any time for non urgent things.

No system is perfect.

Where my dad it they have 2 Drs working morning and afternoon, one sees pre booked appointments, the other sees you in the turn you arrive.

But if the Dr taking pre booked has finished they will start to see the 'walk ins'.

I'm driving along narrow but busy country lanes. No way would I want to attempt a hands free call, even if legal. Plus I have a small child in the car with me who I wouldn't want to discuss symptoms in front of.

Our doctors is ring on the day for an appointment in a week but you do have ring earlier. On the day is emergency only and you have to go through triage. I've heard of the same day it sounds like a nightmare I hope ours doesn't change

In my experience, the most efficient running GP practices now are those with a good system of qualified allied health professionals supporting the GP's. Nurse practitioners, prescribing practice pharmacists, physios and mental health practitioners. They can deal with lots of stuff independently of the GP's and you can often be seen by them relatively quickly. If there's anything they can't deal with or need to refer on to the GP for further examination, then they can often book you straight in with the GP to be reviewed in the next day or two if urgent, or within the next week or two if routine.

It's the practices still running with GP's and a non prescribing treatment nurse that are really inefficient and no longer fit for purpose.

Rang GP yesterday
Is is not urgent ...needing to be seen within 24 or 48 hours
BUT
The best they could offer me was November 28 th
I asked if there was a phone call appointment before then ...no

It is so depressing that the Tories have done this - GP appointment target under Labour was 48 hours, now the Tories are 'aspiring' to 14 days.

What it actually looks like (I work in a contact centre) when I have a UTI and work FT
Ask boss if I can take time at 8am to ring doctor. Spend 25 mins in the queue and appointments all gone
Ask boss again if I can ring at 12, spend 20 mins queuing, no appointments
Apologise to boss, ask if I can ring the next day
Ring at 8am, get telephone appointment
Take time off to take the telephone appointment
Ask boss if I can go as they need to see me face to face.

This is also such an invasion of your privacy @PeloFondo
Your boss and perhaps colleagues around you knowing you have something wrong which you may prefer they didn't know about.